SEO & AI visibility
Canonical URLs: fix duplicates with evidence
Declare preferred URLs without hiding intentional page differences. A canonical tag consolidates ranking signals when two URLs show the same content; it does not replace redirects for moved pages, and it never overrides noindex. Check redirects, canonical tags, sitemaps and internal links point to one address before changing anything.
Find URL variants
A page can be available through multiple paths, query parameters or HTTP and HTTPS. Start by identifying whether the content and purpose are actually the same. Similar titles alone do not prove that two pages should be combined.
Select the preferred URL
Use an absolute canonical URL that points to the intended public page. Internal links, sitemap entries and redirects should reinforce the same choice where appropriate. Canonical annotations are signals, not a guaranteed instruction to a search engine. Do not canonicalise distinct products or language versions solely to remove a duplicate warning.
Verify the result
Fetch both versions after deployment. Check response status, the canonical in the delivered HTML and internal links. Confirm that the preferred page still carries the content users need. Search Console can provide separate evidence of Google’s selected canonical; a website crawl alone does not establish that decision.
See the measurement methodology for product-specific coverage and limitations.